STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With the holidays scant weeks away, the St. George Theatre is calling on dancers, actors and musicians to audition Sunday at the venerable venue.

Male and female actors, 15 to adult, are sought for Halloween events, to reenact horror-movie scenes to be presented in the front lobby during “Tour The Haunted Theatre.” Roles include Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and various scary and ghoulish creatures. The event will require two rehearsals in October and participation on both dates, Oct. 28 and 29.

Also: Dancers, singers and musicians are sought for the St. George Theatre Christmas Show.

Needed are children, teens and adults to sing and/or dance in a number of scenes, including the production opener, the Central Park Scene, Rainbow Room scene, the “Nutcracker” scene and more.

Participants will be required to attend rehearsals on Sundays for dancers and Monday evenings for actors and singers. Tech week will be every night Dec. 11-15, with show dates Dec. 16-18.

Sunday’s audition is set for 5:30 p.m. for child dancers (ages 8 to 12), strong tappers, acrobats and those with ballet experience; 6:15 p.m. for teens and adult dancers, strong tappers, ballet and jazz/hip-hop; 6:45 p.m. for musicians on the bongos, drums and ukelele; 7 p.m. for singers ages 12 to adult, and 7 p.m. for Halloween actors, 15 to adult.

Vocalists are required to bring sheet music; musicians should bring instruments, and dancers must be in dance attire.

For additional details, telephone the theatre at 718-442-2900, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., or e-mail Doreen Cugno, executive director of the St. George Theatre, at dcugno@sgtr.org.

CLASS OF 1938
Jo Johnson, an alum in the PS 13 Class of 1938, sent along a photo of herself and classmates who graduated from the Rosebank elementary school in the above-mentioned year.

The former Jo Muino, who is sitting sixth from left, was once a resident of Shore Acres/Rosebank; she relocated to New Mexico and now resides in Phoenix.

It seems that after stumbling across the graduation photo, Mrs. Johnson thought it would be interesting to contact the Advance to ask whether anyone had a connection to any of the students in the photo. In that case, kindly contact this column.

Mrs. Johnson mentioned that Marion Sutler’s (also of Rosebank and sitting to her left) mom was a professor at Columbia University.

Jo went on to New Dorp High School, then to Fordham University and later to the University of New Mexico.

Also pictured in the photo are Irene Cafaro, Veronica Quinn, Jessica Errichiello, Josephine Imitti, William Sutler and Philip Gaetano.
JEWELRY AND THINGS
Lia Sophia, a line of fine fashion and fun jewelry, and Allie N Me Designs, a collection of unique handcrafted matching girl-and-doll hat sets — there are collections for women and boys, too — will display their creations at Bocelli Ristorante, Grasmere, on Monday evening 26 at 7 o’clock.

Note that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the above items will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

The cost is $25 at the door or $20 in advance. On offer will be a raffle for two round-trip Jetblue Airline Travel certificates.

Proceeds will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

For additional information, consult http://mommywhatisdiabetes.com/ZUMBA4diabetes.aspx.
TOYS FOR TOTS
Thanks to the generosity of the community of Staten Island, The UPS Store located on Greaves Lane in Great Kills, raised nearly $200 for the third anniversary of the Toys for Tots Literacy Program. One hundred percent of the proceeds donated locally benefit children on the Island and in surrounding communities.

Throughout the year, The UPS Store offers customers the opportunity to purchase Toys for Tots Literacy Program donation cards. Each donation helps the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation buy a book for a deserving child.

The store is also involved with Where-To-Turn, another philanthropic organization and a drop-off location for many of their programs —most recently used prom dresses & T-shirts for Haiti, as well as with local public schools’ fundraising events.

“The community’s participation in the Toys for Tots Literacy Program was a key component to the success of this promotion,” said The UPS Store franchisee Edmund Singer, who adds that the program provides the unique opportunity to work with a nationally recognized organization yet makes an impact in our community, which is only possible because of thoughtful contributions from the people of Staten Island.

In addition to raising money for the Toys for Tots Literacy Program, The UPS Store collects unwrapped new toys during winter holiday season for the Toys for Tots drive, providing an additional opportunity for the community to help local children. The center will continue additional fundraising activities throughout the year, including a coin box program for customers to donate their spare change.

The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. network is the exclusive sponsor of the Toys for Tots Literacy Program. Since its launch in March 2008, nearly $1.6 million has been raised, helping to deliver hundreds of thousands of books to less-fortunate children across the country.

For further information, consult www.ToysForTotsLiteracy.org. The UPS Store is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. For further information, call 718-356-2400.

SILVER AWARD PROJECT
Julia Marie Dalessio, 14, completed her Silver Award Project “Breaking Through Labels,” in which she organized a collection drive at various locations on Staten Island for Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze’s pediatric playroom and created an educational video in collaboration with CTV producers, logging in just under 75 hours of dedicated work.

The video was a personal effort to demonstrate that people with disabilities are more than a label of their diagnosis. Proceeds from the event were delivered to Vivian Alestra of SIUH. The video is running on CTV channels 35, 36, 56 and 57, Time Warner Cable, and channels 34, 35, 36, 37, Verizon. Julia Marie sends special thanks to children who volunteered for the video: Anthony, Angela, Mario, Anthony, Ryan, Nick and Maggie.
CELEBRATIONS
Happy birthday today to Al Schneider, who shares his birthday with Marilyn Gianna, Julia Cauldwell, John S. Barton, Tiffany Cina, Lorraine Sullivan and Gary Gordon.